Instead of attending Columbia University’s annual International Public Relations Department’s “Alumni Day” celebration, several alumni gathered to denounce the school for protesting and tearing up diplomas.
The protest follows the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and green cardholder, graduate student at the International Public Service School (SIPA). Halil was arrested by immigration and customs enforcement in his university-owned apartment on March 8th.
The demonstration was organized by Palestinian SIPA graduates, and began with a group of graduates and current student speakers, dozens of people chanted, and then a collective rift in the diploma.
“It’s not easy to do this. No one is downplaying this. There’s no joy in this,” said Amaritower, a 2009 SIPA graduate who spoke in the protest.
Tower said as an immigrant who had been evacuated, she had to fight hard to earn her master’s degree in international affairs in Colombia.
“I’m not a graduate I’m completely proud of. Instead, I want to stand with my students, I want to stand with Palestinians.
Columbia University did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday’s protest.
The protesters held signs and chanted “Free Palestine” and “Free Mahmoud Khalil” throughout the afternoon.
Halil’s lawyers say he is currently in custody at a Louisiana facility.
The Trump administration has said he wants to deport Halil for his role in the Palestinian protests on campus, accusing him of being a threat to foreign policy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this was just the beginning for him and Trump.
“If you lose your visa, you are no longer legal in the US, and we have the right to do so, as all countries in the world have the right to exclude you from our country,” Rubio said this week.
“The reason why I’m entering the US and applying for a visa to become a student and coming to the US is said to be not only because I want to write Op-Eds, but also because I want to take part in moves like destroying universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating racks and more.
Khalil’s detention and protests have sparked as Colombia deals with another leadership reform.
On Friday, the school announced that interim president Katrina Armstrong had stepped aside to return to the school’s Irving Medical Center. The move comes a week after schools agreed to a contract with the Trump administration to negotiate a recovery in federal funds.
Armstrong has been replaced by Claire Shipman, co-chair of the Council, and within a year she has made her the third university president. Shipman is a former White House correspondent for NBC News, CNN and ABC News.
She testified before Congress last spring at a hearing about the university’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
“It’s a different look that the board uses to make their bids. I don’t think that’s important,” Hanna, a 2024 graduate, said in a protest on Saturday.
She did not give her last name out of fear of her safety.
“I think Minush Shafik did a terrible job. I think Interim President Armstrong did a terrible job. Shipman would do a terrible job because he hasn’t heard the students. They’re listening to the council,” she added.
Hannah also tore her diploma.
“I am Jewish, so I am here today. My Jewish beliefs are told to appear in oppressed communities.
Columbia is not the only school in which students have been detained. Foreign students from Tufts University, Georgetown University and the University of Minnesota have earned federal custody.
Some current students at the Columbia University protest on Saturday said they had lost faith in the school.
“Students are afraid to step into campus. I’m one of them, so the fact that I’m here is scary because it’s the way my colleagues disappeared,” Jasmine Sally said.
Sarryeh holds a Masters degree in Public Relations from SIPA and is friends with Khalil.
“Mahmoud is a member of a much-loved community and the fact that he was taken away from his 8 month pregnant wife and all of us here in Shipa is devastating,” she said. “It’s difficult to go to class. It’s difficult to come here and not think about him.”
Sarryeh said she lost faith in the value of education she gains from Colombia.
“Columbia University is a fortress of freedom of speech and academic freedom, and it’s heading in a truly dangerous direction,” she said. “And if they don’t stand up for all the protesters who are basically enacting their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, it will put them on a very dark path in which the university wants not to drop.”
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